In the Senate, Portman has led the effort to combat the opioid and addiction crisis in Ohio and around the nation.  Thanks to his leadership, our nation has made progress in preventing deadly drugs like fentanyl from entering the United States, and we have provided a record amount of funding to help those battling addiction get the treatment needed to get their lives back on track.  

Portman authored the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), which was signed into law in 2016.  This legislation has helped expand education, treatment and recovery services.  In 2020, Portman helped secure a record $658 million in funding for CARA grants.

Portman’s Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act was signed into law in October 2018 and is helping stop dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil from being shipped in the mail to the United States from places like China.

Additionally, Portman is the author of the Combating Meth & Cocaine Act, which was signed into law in December 2019.  This law give states more flexibility to use federal funding by expanding the use of the State Opioid Response (SOR) grant funding to address the rise of psychostimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine.

Combatting addiction is an issue Portman has worked on for over two decades.  In the 1990s, Protman helped found the Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati, now known as PreventionFIRST!  During his time in the House, Portman authored the Drug Free Communities Act to help start drug free coalitions around the country.